Iowa NASA EPSCoR
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EPSCoR establishes partnerships with government, higher education and industry that are designed to effect lasting improvements in a state or region’s research infrastructure, research and development capacity, and its national research and development competitiveness.

Iowa Impacts

NASA EPSCoR allows Iowa to participate in NASA’s research enterprise, creates a broader base of research expertise available to the agency to meet its mission, and expands the workforce of STEM-educated and trained students capable of meeting global challenges.

NASA EPSCoR acts as an incubator for innovation. Through increased research capacity, the program provides opportunities for high-tech economic growth in the local communities and helps educate high-skilled workers for those industries.

Three NASA EPSCoR RID awards have been awarded to the State of Iowa that have allowed Iowa NASA EPSCoR to fund 30 seed grants involving 42 researchers and numerous graduate research assistants since 2019. The NASA collaborations in these projects have and continue to lead to strong proposals to nationally competitive awards. To date, these seed grants have led to over $21 million in additional funding to Iowa.

Latest Posts

  • Iowa NASA EPSCoR Supports Iowa State University Research Connecting Spaceflight and Human Health 

    With support from Iowa NASA EPSCoR, Iowa State University researcher Dr. Khaled Kamal is building one of the university’s first integrated space life science research program focused on understanding how spaceflight affects human physiology and musculoskeletal health.  Kamal, who joined Iowa State in 2024 after more than a decade of research connected to the European Space Agency and NASA-related projects, studies how…

  • From Iowa NASA EPSCoR Research Building Seed Grant to NASA EPSCoR Research Award

    At Iowa State University, NASA EPSCoR support is helping one assistant professor turn early ideas into a growing research program with real-world impact. Saikat Mukherjee, a faculty member in mechanical engineering, studies fluid mechanics with a focus on how fluids move through the human body. His recent work looks at how microgravity affects the fluid…

  • Simpson College Research Connects Iowa Students to Space Biology

    Dr. Aswati Subramanian, Associate Professor of Biology at Simpson College, is exploring how a single-celled organism may help scientists better understand how the human body responds to microgravity. Her project focuses on Tetrahymena thermophila, a microscopic organism with hair-like structures called cilia. These structures are found not only in Tetrahymena but also throughout the human…

  • 2025-2026 Research Building Seed Grant Awardees

    Iowa NASA EPSCoR is pleased to announce the FY26 recipients of the Research Building Seed Grants. These grants are designed to strengthen and expand Iowa’s research capacity as part of NASA’s multi-year Research Infrastructure Development (RID) initiative. The program supports researchers across the state, fostering innovation aligned with NASA’s strategic priorities. Each year, investigators from…

  • From Microscope to NASA Calendar: Iowa Research Illuminates Soldering in Space

    No, you’re not looking at an abstract painting of the sun and the Earth. This is a photograph (micrograph)! No, you’re not looking at an abstract painting of the sun and the Earth. This is a photograph (micrograph)! Iowa State University associate professor of Materials Science and Engineering Dr. Sid Pathak and lead researcher Dr.…

  • ISGC and NASA EPSCoR Spring Research Symposium

    When: April 15, 2025 Where: Howe Hall, Iowa State University; 537 Bissell Rd, Ames, IA 50011. Join us for our annual Spring Research Symposium at Iowa State University where Iowa Space Grant Consortium supported students and faculty, as well as Iowa NASA EPSCoR supported researchers and students, will come together to showcase their innovative and…